Vapor electric apparatus.



0. 0. KRUH. VAPOR ELECTRIC APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JAH.9,1904.

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Patented July 4, 1911.

\HVQHTOR. Osias Otto Kruh,

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Uldiliil EU S'trifiliid PATEN 1 OFFICE.

OSIAS 0. KRUI'I, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

VAPOR ELECTRIC APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. utontod July 4, 191 1.

A lication filed January 9, 1904. Serial No. 188,408.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1. (lens O'r'ro KRUH, a subject of the l'thnperor of Austriwi-Iungory, residing at Schenectzuly, in the county .3 ol tichcneetzuly and State of New York,

have invented certain new and useful .Improvcnu-rnts in Vapor Electric i'\ppnrzitus, of which the following is a specificntion.

One of the diliieulties met with in the o11 erution of mercury vapor reotitiers for alterneting currents is on arcing or spitting discharge between the anodes or electrodes connect-ed to the ulternuting-cujrrent source. The current curried througl'i the medium of this discharge sooner or later destroys the nppzu'utus either by impairing the Vacuum 'thercoli or by producing such a sudden shock us to break down the gloss envelop. 1 have i'levised imprownnents whereby troubles of the churucter menticmed are obviated.

'lfhe novel features of my invention l have eudeuvorci'l to point out with particularity in the epperufied cieims.

The iuvcutiim itself I hove sought o melee clear in the following specification which is to he taken in connection with the uccompuuying drawings in which,

.liigure 1 represents u rectifier embodying my invention and adopted to operate with single-phase alternating currents; Fig. 2 is another view of the rectifier shown in Fig. 1; and. Fig. 3 is-still another View in which the rectifier is shown connected in circuit.

(:iencrully speaking the rectifier consists of a highly exhausted envelop of glass or other su ituhio mntcrinl provided with elem trodes. in that form of my invention which .i have illustrated in the drawings the on xelop comprises a number or inclined tubulur condensing ehun'ihers opening into the elelMode-contraining space. lhoso condensing cimruluu's-i are indicated in l, 2 and 3. Tihoso nuuihered 1 end 2 form continuutions, so to spcuk, of the tubular electrode-coir tuiuiurj spaced 21nd urn inclined thereto as shown in l lies. i and 3. .The third coniflcusiugz; hrunher i. opens into the member l 4d :d: its middle point and dirmrtly over tin: control :-lc(,:trode indicated at 5. Like the other condensing clumihers it is invlimd us rcpriwutcd perhaps host by the side cicvntion ot' the rectifier in Fig. 2.

in addition. to the electrode 5 there are two compuuion electrodes 5 und 7 located rcru ec 'fvely on either side of the oi 'lrode 5 and at equal distance therefrom. All of these electrodes consist of bodies of mercury contained in pockets formed in the walls of the reiiztilier. 'lhcsc pockets are so arranged and the amount of mercury introduced so measured that when the pockets containing the bodies of mercury (l and 7 are completely filled the level of the mercury in the middle pocket 5 then lies appreciably below that of the electrodes 0 and 7. This has the advantage that when, due to an excess of n'iercury, there is an overflow from one of the outside electrodes (.3 and T tovurd the middle eleclrodc 5 the mercury Will run down the inclincd walls 8 or fl to the middle electrode without causing it run'munent shorbcircuitiug bet ween the middle electrode and one of the outside elcctrmles us might be the case it the top, surfaces of the electrodes were on the some level.

(hu'rent-flow between the electrodes and the external circuits of the rectifier is provided for by suitable lending-in conductors sealed through the walls of the envelop in any usual munuer: 'lhcse lcudingdn conductors are indicated at 10, 11 and 12.

The rectifier is connected in circuit as shownv in Fig. 3. In this figure the alternnting-currcnt mains 13 and 14 are connected respectively to theoulside electrodesG and 7. Between these supply mains inductance coils 15 and Hi are connected in series with ouch other. The. circuit which is to he supplied with rectified currcnt has one of its mains us 17 connected to the middle electrode 5 ol'- the rcclil'icr and its other main 18 to the junction 19 between the two inductunce coils. The circuit receiving the rectilicd. "current may contain translating devices of any desired cl'uirucicr. A storage buttery .20 is shown as typical of such translating devices. In place thereof or in ad dilion thereto :1 ny other translating devices may he used. The dotted extensions of the mains l? and are intended to indicate any desired additions to the consumption circuit or sysdcm.

To start up the reclilicr (he envelop is tipped so as to cause a momentary llow of mercury between the middle electrode 5 and one or the other of the outside electrodes. ln sturlingilurectifier the storage buttery or other lrunslmiu; devices are ircfcruhly r rcpluccd by n snarling resistance and. utter H10Slilliiilg(lllllltl fl is complcici'l, arc substituted for the resistance. The rectifier after having been started operates in a manner which so far as its electrical features are concerned is well understood and, for the presentpurpose, requires no special description.

The novel arrangement of condensing chambers in the rectifier serves, however, to do away practically entirely with such incidental troubles as arcing between electrodes normally of the same polarity.' In rectifiers as heretofore constructed the condensed mercury vapor forms small globules on the walls of the condensing surface and these globules when they become detached from the walls roll therefrom and drop through the main working arc of therectifier into the anodes or positive electrodes corresponding to the electrodes 6 and 7 Destructive arcs between the anodes frequently follow as the result of this dropping of the mercury globules. While it cannot be said with certainty as to why this result takes place it seems probable that the action may be as follows: When a mercury globule drops into 'or against an anode the surface tension of the anode receives a shock and the surface is more or less broken up depending upon the violence of impact. N ow if at the moment of impact the polarity impressed upon the anode by the alternating-current mains is negative the sudden shock to the mercury surface may result in a disengagement of negative ions. The electrode, or at least a portion thereof, therefore becomes a cathode and, acting hr conjunction with a cooperating anode, permits an arc to, jump from anode to anode which are is, of course, supplied by current fiowing directly from one alternating-current main through the arc to the other main. The low-resistance of the are path thus causes what amounts to a short-circuit and may, and frequently does, destroy the rectifier as well as produce trouble in the supply system.

If the anodes instead of being mercury are of some solid material as graphite or the like the same result may take place due to the vaporization of the mercury globule as it strikes the anode. The ionized vapor necessary to make the anode a cathode temporarily is thus furnished by the material of the globule. The mercury globule probably acts also in another man ner either to promote the objectionableareing or to initiate the same. Thus as the globule falls through the are which normally exists in the rectifier, it is more or less vaporized and thus causes an increase in the amount of mercury vapor presentin the envelop. An increase in the amount of vapor causes, as is well understood, an increase in the voltage at the terminals of the apparatus and a corresponding decrease in current. As this action ta the corresponding varitit on of current, act- {es place suddenly.

ing through the reactance of the supply systern, may cause a. momentary high voltage to be impressed upon the terminals. voltage of this character is particularly apt, when there is an excess of mercury vapor in the envelop, to cause an arc to take place. The arcing which is actually observed is probably dueto one and perhaps to both of-the causes mentioned. 'Io obviate this trouble I cause the condensing chambers as 1 and 2 to be inclined so that the globules of condensed mercury, instead of dropping through the normally existing arc roll slowly down the walls of the condensing chamber and quietly coalesce with the bodies of mercury forming the anodes. Disturbance of the surface of the anodes is thus prevented and at the same time the production of an excess of mercury vapor is obviated. In order still further to reduce the tendency to arcing between the anodes I provide the inclined condensing chamber 3 which opens into the space directly above the cathode 5. This condensing chamber relieves the pressure of mercury vapor over the cathode, where most of the vaporization takes place, and by withdrawing mercury vapor from thespace between the anodes 6 and 7 greatly increases the re sistance to a high voltage discharge between the anodes.

Although I have above described one embodiment of my invention which I have found particularly valuable, it is obvious that numerous variations in the construction thereof may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, for which k Ill inclined condensing chambers for minimizing the impact caused by thereturn of the products of condensation.

2. In an alternating current vapor electric device, the combination of an exhausted envelop having a plurality of anodes subject to differences of potential, and a cathode, at least'one of said electrodes being of vaporizable material, and a condensing chamber extending obliquely upward from the vicinity of each electrode.

3. In a yapor electric apparatus, the combination of an envelop, electrodes therein, a plurality of which are of the same polarity, and a condensing chamber opening over each of theelectrodes of the same polarity and each inclinedto the vertical.

4-. In a vapor el ctric apparatus, the combination of an envelop provided with a plurality of electrodes situated at different lev' els and subject to differences of potential and a separate inclined condensing chamber extending upward from the surface of the lowermost electrode away from the current carrying path and returning condensed material directly to said electrode.

5. In an alternating current vapor electric apparatus, the combination of a vaporizable negative electrode, a plurality of positive electrodes differing in potential, and an cxhausted envelop including said electrodes, said envelop having a condensing chamber for returning products of condensation di rectly to the negative electrode and also having condensing chambers for the other electrodes.

6. In a vapor electric apparatus, the coinbination of an exhausted envelop, a cathode,

the currentcarrying and a plurality of anodes in said envelo a tubular condensing chamber opening into the space between the anodes and an inclined condensing chamber for each anode.

7. An alternating current vapor electric apparatus, an envelop having a plurality of anodes subject to difference of potential, and a cathode, one at least of said electrodes consistin of vaporizable material, and an inclined tubular condensin chamber discharging condensed materlal laterally into path near the surface of the vaporizable electrode.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 8th day of January, 1904.

OSIAS O. KRUH. Witnesses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL; HELEN Onronn. 

